20 years ago, we had shaky, grainy, out of focus video of ghosts, the Loch Ness Monster, bigfoot, UFOs, and what have you. Today, when just about everyone has an HD video camera in their pocket, we have: the same shaky, grainy, out of focus video.

I can take a great high-definition photo of just about anything with my phone. Add in satellite imagery, a multitude of security and traffic cameras, and tons of other gadgets, and you'd think we'd have a legitimate video of at least one supernatural occurrence.

Oh, you were abducted by a UFO? We'll check the ATM camera across the street from your house for evidence.

Don't waste your time linking me to some shitty youTube video where a shadow floats across a wall in a quiet village somewhere in a third world country. I've seen it all. I'm talking about crystal clear, non-CGI footage of any sort of supernatural or mythical occurrence. Today, when someone claims to have seen something incredible, there's almost no excuse for not having visual proof. Show me Bigfoot taking a crap in central park, not 8-bit pixel-foot running through the woods at dusk.

The same goes for knowledge. 20 years ago, a theist could make a biblical claim and, unless you were well-educated in theology, you were left wondering. Today, I can look up pretty much any claim, it's original translation and origins (if known), contradictions to that claim, etc. all in a matter of minutes, and then discuss it with a variety of people all around the world from both sides of the argument, as well as compare it to other religions.

I think the absolute abundance of gadgets and technology we have today have left our myths and fallacies with little place to hide. It's been interesting watching religions attempt to rationalize and redefine their dogma in light of the modern world.

If Jesus died for our sins, why is there still sin? If man was created from dust, why is there still dust? If Americans came from Europe, why are there still Europeans?

My favorite is the guy, you know him, we all know him, who begins his conspiracy/myth with "There's nothing you say that will change my mind" and then proceeds to tell us about his bigfoot sighting, or alien abduction, or truther conspiracy, or whatever.

Yeah, you know who I'm talking about. Everyone knows a guy like this. If you don't, then you probably ARE the guy like this...

"Whores perform the same function as priests, but far more thoroughly." - Robert A. Heinlein

My favorite is the guy, you know him, we all know him, who begins his conspiracy/myth with "There's nothing you say that will change my mind" and then proceeds to tell us about his bigfoot sighting, or alien abduction, or truther conspiracy, or whatever.

Yeah, you know who I'm talking about. Everyone knows a guy like this. If you don't, then you probably ARE the guy like this...

^This. People still hold on to those beliefs, and I think it's indicative more of a desire to believe in these things than anything having to do with evidence. If anything, to me it feels like this stuff in MORE out in the open, what with all the TV shows and youtube videos and websites.

And it definitely seems to me that MORE people now spend their weekends "ghost hunting" and searching for bigfoot, because nowadays, more people can easily afford video equipment. I don't think the quality (crappy huge VHS camcorders in the 80s vs. high def video on any number of pocket sized, affordable devices today) even matters so much as the fact that they enjoy looking for these things, discussing them, and wanting to believe in them.

I think part of it is a will to believe, and part of it is things like suggestion, hallucination, misinterpretation of data, pseudoscience, leading people to genuinely believe their own "supernatural experiences" are real. If someone tells me they saw a ghost, I don't think they're lying, but I do think they're probably mistaken.